Government of Bulgaria and UNICEF embark on new partnership to support out- of school children in having the access to quality education

Tbilisi, 19 July, 2022 – A new partnership has been launched between UNICEF and the Government of the Republic of Bulgaria to include more out of school children, children at risk of dropping-out of school or those who lag behind into mainstream education. The project is being implemented in close collaboration with the Ministry of Education and Science.

The project aims at enabling disadvantaged and out-of-school children and youth to: enter or re-enter and successfully integrate in the mainstream education system; access and benefit from after school catch-up and second chance education programmes providing support in learning, organized play and recreation; acquire necessary skills and quality learning outcomes that will allow them to achieve their full potential and increase their readiness for the labor market and success later in life.

“It is very important to provide every child with the right to quality education and we are grateful to the Government of Bulgaria for their strong partnership in this regard”, - said Ghassan Khalil, UNICEF Representative in Georgia. “We continue strong collaboration with the Ministry of Education and Science and with the Government of Bulgaria to support special programs for out-of-school children to re-enter the mainstream education system”, Khalil added.

The project is based on the previous successful collaboration established between the parties in 2019 within which around 200 children, including out-of-school children and those at risk of school dropout improved their literacy and numeracy skills and some returned to school.

In Georgia, there are many children, especially from the most socially and economically marginalized groups, who do not have access to compulsory education. The children who are either dropouts or at high risk of not being in school include children with disabilities, children living and working on the streets, children from ethnic minority groups, children in public care, orphans, IDPs, stateless children, refugees, and children from very remote areas.